Avoyelles Parish teachers who came to work every day, whose students’ scores improved significantly and who helped their schools meet performance goals could receive a bonus this November.
The Avoyelles School Board Education Committee was presented the bonus proposal at its Sept. 18 meeting.
Elementary Education Supervisor Celeste Voinche told board members the pay supplement would be funded by the district’s $535,000 state Teacher Incentive Fund grant.
The grant would pay a teacher $1,000 for perfect attendance and $500 for missing only one or two days.
The TIF grant would also give a $2,000 bonus to teachers whose students’ improvements helped the school meet its schoolwide performance goals.
The largest reward would be given to the highest-achieving teachers. Those deemed most effective will receive $5,000.
The TIF grant is funded with state and federal funds to aid struggling schools. Each state was allocated federal funds to distribute to the neediest school districts.
Avoyelles is one of 18 school districts receiving a TIF grant.
When applying for the grant, Avoyelles submitted a plan outlining how it would spend the grant funds. The teacher bonus proposal was in the state-approved plan.
However, the money must be spent this school year. Any unspent grant funds must be returned to the state.
“This doesn’t cost the school system any funds,” Voinche said.
Lafargue Elementary and LaSAS teachers are not eligible for grant funding because those two schools are not designated as “struggling.”
Superintendent Blaine Dauzat said the final number of teachers eligible for the bonuses has not been determined. Several recipients have been determined, but others are “too close to call until we get the final test scores in November.”
Approximately 100 teachers will receive one or more of the bonuses, he said. At this time, 17 have qualified for the high-performing reward with five of those expected to receive the maximum bonus.
The bonuses will be given in late November.
“With the supplement we gave a couple of weeks ago and with the annual November supplement, if a teacher gets these three bonuses that one educator could get $9800 above their regular salary.”
The bonuses provided by the TIF grant is particularly welcome in Avoyelles, whose teachers are among the lowest-paid in the state, Dauzat added.
“We have had people ask us to reward the teachers that show positive results,” Dauzat continued. “Under this plan, we are to reward the teachers that give results in the classroom. In the long run, this may attract more teachers to the parish.”
Voinche said the grant will be available again next year and for the next few years.